The Hidden Sky Village Negotiations
Summary "The Hidden Sky Village Negotiations" is a thread from Season 4, March 5, 2015, in which Kiri accompanies her village leaders to a meeting with Orskaf Donz. Many revelations are brought forth as these two meet... Full Text Toshioka Kiri: 'The messages had been passed, the preparations made, and Kiri now found herself marching alongside Master Ryoko and Takahiro, two of the village heads. She felt very out of place alongside them. The elderly stranger had been seen entering the Higurashi Tavern - a favorite hangout for several veteran nins. This meant that the negotiations here would be watched closely… after all, a stranger and the village leaders did not meet under casual circumstances. They entered together, Master Ryoko toddling forward with her staff as support. She glanced at Takahiro to her left side, Kiri to her right, then turned her gaze directly towards the one man who stood out amongst the crowd of patrons. "You there, stranger!" she barked. "I am Master Ryoko, leader of this village. I hear you’re here on important business, yes? Let us talk. Chihiro, bring us some tea and sake will you?" '''Orskaf Donz: '''Orskaf glanced over from the table he was seated at, he leaned his head back slightly to regard her, and then nodded once, motioning to the table. “Good a time as any.” he grumbled. '''Toshioka Kiri: '''They approached the table, seating themselves at the extra places. The said woman at the bar came with a pot of jasmine tea, several cups, and a caraffe of sake. "Kiryouin Takahiro," Master Ryoko nodded once to the other leader, "And our aid, Toshioka Kiri," she nodded to her. "And you, stranger. We know why you are here, but I want to hear it directly from you. With a proper introduction, mind you." '''Orskaf Donz: '''Orskaf met the woman’s eyes, his gaze even was he carefully lifted up the sake cup can took a sip. “Naturally,” he said. “I come on behalf of Odin, the lands above you are now feuding grounds for Loki and Thor, I am here to offer you companionship with us, which will divert their rather…active attention away from you.” he took another sip and set the cup down. “I will not mince words. Ragnorok is here and happening now. If a village or kingdom is not aligned with a god, then any army that is can swoop in and wipe them out with no fear of repercussions. It would be to your benefit to think this over.” '''Toshioka Kiri: '''Master Ryoko’s eyes narrowed. “Truly then, Ragnarok. And you say you come on behalf of Odin. What benefit, exactly, do we gain by allying ourselves with Odin over say… another god? And why us, stranger? Why the interest in our humble little village?” '''Orskaf Donz: '"Please take this as a fact of military nature rather than a threat," Orskaf said. "Perhaps there is no difference between one god or another, but I reckon once you have a massive army occupying your home the last thing you’d want to do would be to piss them off by saying no…" he shrugged. "Especially since their offer is only as good any other." he waved a hand. "But enough on that, I am not in the mood to write up a contract today anyone. I am more interested in your second question. Why you?" He leaned back in his seat. “Your warriors are superior, and you are in a strategic position, nothing more…at least until recently. I hear there is a witch threat.” his eyes narrowed. “This is disturbing news to me considering how much damage a cat contract or witch activity could do to my men.” 'Toshioka Kiri: '"So you have heard," Master Ryoko stroked her chin. "And so you know. Toshioka," she turned to Kiri. "You are an expert in regards to the witches. What do you know?" Kiri took a deep breath, slightly nervous in the presence of her two village leaders. But they trusted her well now. "News of contracts and how to deal with the cats have already spread," she replied. "We hear you were in the Wilder West recently, sir… so you should be aware of the danger there. Know though, this village takes care of its own affairs. We have the personnel to manage the threat here. Your men need not worry." The other two leaders nodded. “Indeed, it is true,” Takahiro spoke. Then he raised an eyebrow. “What is your name, by the way? You’ve still not introduced yourself. It is important to us that we know the identity of Odin’s Messenger.” 'Orskaf Donz: '"Donz," Orskaf said. "Judge Donz, that is my name and my position." the man blinked. He could feel the energy change in the room, and his eyes slowly glanced over to meet Kiri’s." 'Toshioka Kiri: '''Kiri had frozen, staring. Something dark in her chest was beginning to rise up, like some hot rage ready to rip, slice, destroy destroy destroy - She struggled to hold it down. She had grown better at it, yes, but the sensations had also become stronger. "Toshioka?" Master Ryoko asked with some concern. Kiri quickly shook her head, hoping that it cleared any strangeness from her face. Then she quickly tapped her foot twice and ran a hand through her hair. Signal to the two leaders. ''I know of this man. Do not trust him. He should leave. "Donz?" she asked politely, taking a sip of tea. She managed to maintain eye contact, even if it strained at her willpower to keep the unborn witch at bay. "No relation to Blunt, is there? Interesting man. He didn’t like my proposal." 'Orskaf Donz: '"He’s my grandson," Orskaf said crisply, as if dismissing any further mention of the man. His eyes shifted over towards the other leaders. They could see in his eyes that he knew that something was wrong just as much as they did. "Friends with those rebels then eh?" he asked quietly. 'Toshioka Kiri: '"Once," she replied. "I left them to kill witches." She sipped her tea again, even though she couldn’t taste anything anymore. That rage was still there. Her body shook with the effort it took to hold it in. Runes and stars flashed before her eyes, and she thought she saw the image of mirror shards. Then there was a crash, and she was holding a shattered teacup in her hand, one of her fingers sliced. The ring on her left middle finger gave a brief dark glint. "Ah," she said simply. Then it struck her how strange she was behaving, and the rage left her alone. “I - I’m sorry,” she muttered, her face turning red. She grabbed the nearest towel to wipe up the mess. "Chihiro, help us with this!" Master Ryoko called. Then she turned her attention back to Judge Donz. "We apologize for this. The child does not know her own strength. She is one of our strongest young warriors, you see." A tap of the staff, a click of a heel. He upsets you greatly. Kiri tapped one of the shards on the table as she helped Chihiro mop up the mess. ''Yes.Orskaf Donz: '"Of course," Orskaf said, jerking a cloth napkin off the table and stepping forward, closing his hand around Kiri’s so the cloth covered up the slice, his palm pressing into the ring. He stepped back calmly. "Madam," he said, turning to Ryoko. "I think I’ll be withdrawing my forces and leave the witch hunting to you. I’m sure we can resume negotiations once it is over, advancements and war must be handled one thing at a time after all." 'Toshioka Kiri: '''Kiri violently jerked her hand away from him, staring. She held her hand to her chest, her other hand covering the ring. ''Leave my soul alone! Master Ryoko cleared her throat, evidently noticing Kiri’s discomfort. “I believe that would be wisest, Judge Donz,” she replied, nodding her head. “We are warriors after all. You may continue to rest here, but I would advise leaving quickly… we do not wish for guests to be caught in the crossfire during our battles with the witches,” she gave a crooked smile. “We will leave you to your meal then. Chihiro, ensure the man and his troops are well taken care of for the remainder of their stay.” Category:Season 4 Category:Events Category:Orskaf Donz Category:Toshioka Kiri